Why do all telecommunications companies in Canada have to be so crooked?

[Sylvanfan]

I hate their attitude of try to charge you for something you're not using and make you call them to get rid of the charges. Switched from Bell to Shaw and they did this to me (Bell). I even gave them their 30 days and they still claimed I didn't and wanted to bill me for 30 more days. It wasn't until I sent the CRTC on them that they relented and made it so I wouldn't have to pay. Meanwhile I spent 2 hours on hold with their Customer Service reps fighting before they finally fixed this. Of course Shaw offers a promotion to trade in equipment straight accross....well...they still tried to bill me 750 bucks for the equipment...were happy to take that off the bill when I called. But I had to phone and deal with customer service when it was supposed to be part of the promotion. Now...I had to cancel their service because they're not where I currently live, they don't offer it. They were happy to suspend the services in my house on that day...yet they send me a bill for serives for the period of April 1st to April 30th...even though they cut me off on March 21st. Now I have to call them and they'll say oh yeah....we owe you a credit for the 10 days you already paid for and didn't use. Drives me nuts that they all have the same billing practice of ask for anything from the customer and hope he doesn't call to set you straight. Why can't they just bill accurately!!!

Rant over.

Is there anyone in Canada who doesn't do bussiness this way? Now I may have little choice but to go back to Bell which I really don't want to do. Maybe a mail box in Oroville Washington and a DirecTV System is what I need to do.

[Traditional_Ale]

I'd just quit watching TV and buy something cooler.

[RW99]

I cancelled my Bell dish in October. They are still working out the final bill...
I will NEVER touch a Telus product or service again in my life.
Shaw is OK, haven't had any real problems.
Rogers was pretty good.

Everyone has a different take

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by fotze

Sylvanfan, have you not read my numerous posts about the exct same thing over the past 3 years. Bell is the absolute worst. At least Shaw will admit the mistake (even though they shouldn't make the mistake I agree). Bell will lie then lie then lie. I think the root of the problem is that any company can put ANYTHING on your credit report and it is instantly affected and you have to prove you are innocent which may take months and may never get remedied. If there was a better way for that to work, Bell would smarten up right away.

Yeah, Bell seems to follow the same pattern with many of their customers of not redeeming credits and overcharging and then lying about it. They don't even keep their lies straight and don't care if they are caught up. I still deal with them because Shaw HDTV is pretty limited here and I get a speciality channel from Bell. Shaw is a little more customer friendly and I haven't any internet billing problems since I left Calgary.

If you're close to the border Slyvanfan, maybe you can pick up some American digital channels OTA.

[Shawnski]

Come on Sly... "crooked"?

I don't give any of the players brains enough to be crooked.

Stupid, Misguided, Foolish... those I can understand.

Telecoms have the MOST complex systems/promotions/compensations that are known to man as far as I know. No other industry has products that have as many price points based on criteria like the combinations of term, rate plan, location, and other factors like this one does.

Due to the complexity of the industry, and potential promises at time of sale, I condone wholeheartedly that anything you agree to should be in writing. Period.

CYA.

[DuffMan]

No Shaw in St. Albert. that sucks.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

No Shaw in St. Albert. that sucks.

They're in St.Albert, but not in Osoyoos where I'm currently hiding out these days.

I phoned Shaw, and as expected, they said oh yeah you shouldn't have that charge and reversed it. Pretty much par for the course...they will admit their mistake and correct it if you track them down. They also give you the option of leaving a message and calling you back after being on hold for 15 minutes rather than stay on hold for 45 minutes like you do with Bell. I had such bad customer experience with Bell, but in this neck of the woods they're pretty much my option. I just hate to do bussiness with Bell again given how crappy they were the last time.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Shawnski

Come on Sly... "crooked"?

I don't give any of the players brains enough to be crooked.

Stupid, Misguided, Foolish... those I can understand.

Deceitful? Do they have brains enough to be that?

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

They're in St.Albert, but not in Osoyoos where I'm currently hiding out these days.

Osoyoos? weren't you the one that was going to move to Kelowna?

[Sylvanfan]

It was going to be Kamloops...but than a better work oppurtunity came along if I was willing to move to the South Okanagan. I'm only kind of squatting here right now (lucky that my wife's sister and her husband have a couple extra property's here and are willing to let us stay at one)....most likely going to end up in Penticton or Summerland if I can ever get rid of my house in St.Albert. Still where I'm living right now is a lot warmer and nicer than where I was living so it's not like I lose, except when it comes to T.V. and Internet providers!

[Bobblehead]

Bell Expressvue isn't the only Sat provider. StarChoice (as Shaw company) also has Centre Ice. And outside of sometimes long wait times, customer service has been pretty good, at least in my experiences with it.